Editorial: Socialism is democracy
Democracy is something to which almost all capitalist politicians pay ritualistic tribute; to declare that they are against democracy is regarded by them as inviting the kiss of death. Sometimes they tell us that democracy—or rather their version of it—is under attack, which usually means they are about to demand some vast sacrifice from the working class, allegedly to protect democracy.
The result of such sacrifices—and the working class are usually only too ready to make them—is not to strengthen democracy. Today, for example, there are huge areas of the world and tens of millions of people living under dictatorship—and this after several wars which were supposed to defend democracy. The fact that many of those dictatorships refer to themselves as democracies exposes just how the word is misused and distorted and, therefore, how precarious is democracy’s hold.
How does the socialist view democracy?
How will socialism be a democratic society?
A socialist is, first of all, a politically conscious being, someone who has come to an understanding of social dynamics so that they know how and why capitalism works and how and why socialism will abolish capitalism’s problems.
Socialists do not have any political leaders. Nobody can deceive us that, say, Tory monetarism is good for us, that Labour stands for working class interests, that socialism exists in places like Russia, China, Cuba.. .
Nobody gives political orders to a socialist. No member of the Socialist Party of Great Britain lays down policy statements for the rest to accept and carry out. Socialist policy, based on our understanding, is made by our members, all standing equally.
Every SPGB meeting is an open event. Our branches, our conferences, our executive committee meetings—all are open to anyone who likes to come in and see how a democratic socialist party runs its affairs. We have no secret sessions. Socialists know what is going on in their party and so can participate in it to the full.
And here we have three interdependent elements which are essential for any democratic society: knowledge, freely available information and participation. In a socialist society people will be knowledgeable, not in the sense that they have ploughed through every word ever put down on paper by Marx and Engels but because they will be aware of what sort of society they want, how it had to be achieved and how it must be kept in being.
In socialism all decision-making processes will be open and free—which implies that social knowledge will be available to everyone. (Only a short time ago this presented some huge technical problems, but with the recent rapid developments in computer technology and communication systems, these problems have diminished.)
People in socialism will process information through their social awareness and in this way will take full part in forming decisions and in carrying them out. Indeed, their participation in making decisions will itself carry the responsibility for implementing them.
All of this, and much else, will make socialism a vibrant society in which the world’s population will be aware of what is happening, how it happens and will themselves make it happen. For the first time in history, the human race will assert its control over natural forces with a control over its own future. This is the true meaning of democracy.
In contrast, capitalism offers an arid prospect, in which humanity’s abilities and co-operative drives are stifled. Socialism is exciting because it will set us free. We will not only want abundance; we shall design it and we shall work together to bring it about.